Players View Henning Dismissal as Harsh Reality

The change was almost inevitable, but that didn’t ease the disappointment in the Chargers’ locker room Monday when players learned that Coach Dan Henning and his staff had been fired.

Henning was popular with his players, and even those who agreed with General Manager Bobby Beathard’s decision were saddened by his dismissal.

At least one player, H-back Craig McEwen, was visibly upset. Before joining the Chargers last year, he played under Henning when Henning was passing-game and quarterback coach of the Washington Redskins.

“He’s a friend of mine,” McEwen said. “I’ve been with him every year I’ve been in the NFL, and we have a good personal relationship. That’s why it hurts.

“I understand why they let him go; he had three losing seasons. We just didn’t win enough games. We had a young team, and unfortunately we didn’t learn quickly enough.

“When you look at the record, you have to say the move is justified. But you can think of a thousand and one reasons why we didn’t win, and it all comes down to a team effort. Missed tackles, blown assignments, missed blocks, dropped passes, penalties--you name it. We simply didn’t do the job.”

Punter John Kidd applauded Henning’s work ethic, saying, “I’m disappointed for Dan, just because I know how much of himself he poured into this job. He’s a very thorough coach, and very intelligent.

“With that kind of effort and the talent we had, seeing him lose his job is very disappointing. Sad to say, in this game the bottom line is winning.”

“I think everybody expected it, but I’m disappointed personally,” said defensive end Burt Grossman. “I had a good relationship with Dan. He’s a good coach, but it just didn’t work out for him here.

“I don’t shed any tears for Dan Henning and I don’t think he will shed any for me. He’ll get another job, I’m sure of that. It’s just that it’s always tough picking up and relocating your whole family.”

Linebacker Leslie O’Neal, who was known to have an occasional misunderstanding with Henning, felt that there was no way Henning could have kept his job under the circumstances.

“I feel sympathy for those guys, having to go out and look for jobs,” O’Neal said, “but that’s the hard line of reality in this business.

“I’m disappointed in the (4-12) season, but I can’t be disappointed in what happened. People get fired for losing, not for winning. If you don’t fire a guy for losing, people ask why. It’s something that’s expected.”

Asked if he considered Henning a good coach, O’Neal said, “I don’t think he would have gotten this job unless he was a good coach. That’s not a question you ask me; it’s one you ask the people upstairs.”

Backup quarterback Bob Gagliano, a 33-year-old veteran and first-year Charger, said that Henning had a much better offensive scheme than that of the Detroit Lions, his most recent former team.

“I can’t believe this,” Gagliano said. “Henning is an offensive genius. Everything he does is well planned. With the Lions, nobody understood the run-and-shoot, so their offense was like throwing darts at a board. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Yet they go 12-4 this season and we go 4-12. They were just grab-bagging and got away with it.”

A sampling of other players’ comments:

Guard David Richards: “I hate to see Dan go. I like him a lot. It’s a shame, because he deserved a better fate.”

Defensive end George Hinkle: “I’m disappointed that we didn’t play better than we played. He’s a good coach and he worked hard. We had a good relationship. It’s kind of sad to see him go.”

Safety Darren Carrington: “Any time something like this happens, you have to feel for everybody involved. I felt that he was a pretty good coach.”

Several players--including cornerback Gill Byrd, safety Martin Bayless and linebacker Junior Seau--declined to comment. Linebacker Billy Ray Smith, whose nine-year tenure ties him with Byrd as the oldest Charger in point of service, said he would withhold any remarks until he talks to Beathard today.

Equipment manager Sid Brooks, a 19-year Charger veteran who has seen six coaches leave, said, “Dan was a nice person to work for.”

And you know where nice guys finish.